Speed variator



Sept. 17, 1935.

' 1.. M. SHERIDAN SPEED VARIATOR Filed March 27, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l Yilil" /NVENTOR M M u Sept 17, W35. M. SHERIDAN I SPEED VARIATOR Filed March 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES SPEED VARIATOR Leslie Mitchel Sheridan, Copper Cliff, Ontario, Canada Application March 27, 1933, Serial No. 662,887

2 Claims.

The invention relates to a speed variator, as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part of the same.

6 The invention consists of a new and novel principle of mechanical application in combination with a speed variator as pointed out broadly and specifically in the claims for novelty following a description containing an explanation in detail of an acceptable form of the invention.

The objects of the invention are to provide a device for the purpose of varying the rotative speeds of a driven shaft in relation to a drive shaft having a fixed speed which provides the power source, this variation in speed being under direct control of the operator; another object is to provide a compact device for the purpose named which will be light in weight in comparison to others in this class which will adapt itself for use on machines heretofore not equipped with variable speed devices; and generally to provide a device of simple parts, durable in construction and efficient for the purpose set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through the housing showing the gear mechamsm.

Figure '2 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 22 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 3--3 in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of the invention.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the various figures.

35 Referring to the drawings, the housing In completely encloses the entire mechanism and provides a bearing support for the constant speed drive shaft H and the variable speed shaft l2.

Keyed or attached in any suitable way to the shaft H is the gear l3 which co-acts with the gear I l causing the disc l5 which is an integral part of the gear I4 to revolve, the disc l5 and the gear [4 being integral and mounted on the 45 shaft it which is in turn solidly attached to the lever I! which pivots on and around the shaft l I, the purpose of which will hereinafter be more particularly described.

Attached to the disc l5 are a number of pins 50 I8 upon which one end I!) of the crank shaped levers 20 are attached, while the other end of the crank lever 26 carries the pins H to which are journalled the bearings 22 which are connected through the arm 23 to the hub 24 and 55 which in turn are free to revolve around the shaft 25 which is eccentrically located upon the stationary shaft 26.

Mounted on the pawl block retainer 68 and secured thereto are the pawl blocks 29 which are toothed as a gear on their outer surfaces 30. 5 The pawl blocks 29 are held outwardly in position by the springs 28 which engage with the toothed inner surface 32 of the drum 3! which is adapted to rotate around the fixed shaft 26.

The disengaging plate 33 acts to disengage the 10 pawl blocks 29 by pressing down on the project ing position 34 of the pawl blocks 29 and thereby compressing the springs 28. The said disengaging plate 33 is pivoted at one end to the lug 35 of the housing It) and is connected by the pin 15 36 to the extended portion of the lever ll.

The disengaging plate 33 only comes into play under certain conditions, that is to say, when it becomes necessary to limit the contact of the pawl blocks 29 with the drum 3i. This is ac- 2O complished when the plate 33 automatically forces down on the projecting portions of the pawl blocks and by compressing the aforementioned springs 28 and thus prevents the blocks 29 from coming into contact with the toothed 25 drum 3| at that particular position of rotation.

The fixed shaft 26 supports the gear Ill which is in mesh with the gear 38 mounted rigidly on the variable speed shaft I2 and these gears 31 and 38 transfer the rotation of the drum 3! to the shaft l2 which provides the source of variable speed for the particular mechanism which is to be driven.

Itwill be seen that the lever H is used for varying the speed of the driven shaft i2, and carries the shaft l6 and the gear I l and the disc l5 which is an integral part of the gear i l, and the whole of which pivots around the drive shaft H.

The pin 6| is rigidly fastened to lever ll and projects through the slotted hole E2 in the re- 40 taining bracket 43, between the shoulders i t and of the retaining holes in said shoulders M and 45 and through the spring 46 passes the shaft H. The shaft 4| is threaded for a portion of its length 42 and carries the non-rotating nut 45 4! which bears against the lower end of the spring 35. The lower end of the shaft M is turned down at 63 and is fitted into the bearing 64 which is formed of a boss 65 on the housing I0 and the shaft is held in position by the set collar lifi which is pinned to the shaft and which bears against the shoulder Bl of the housing ill, the shaft M is operated by the handwheel 553 which is pinned to the shaft ll and which is located on the outside of the housing iii.

Upon turning the handwheel 49 the nut 41 mounted on the threaded portion of the shaft 52 travels up or down the shaft as the case may be and moves the bracket 63 which in turn moves the lever IT by bearing against the spring 46 in the upward movement and against the shoulder of; in the downward movement.

The purpose of the spring 46 is to translate the pressure on the teeth of the driving gear l3 into load torque, this pressure will, when the driving shaft is rotated counterclockwise in Figure 2, cause the spring 45 to be compressed, under a predetermined pressure, and with a consequent shifting of the centre of the shaft H5, and thus automatically lower the speed and increase the torque on the driven shaft If, to meet the requirements of the increased load, which has caused the said increase in said pressure on the gear teeth of gear l3.

This has the effect of raising or lowering the centre of the disc I5, and which in turn has the effect of increasing or decreasing the speed of rotation of the pawl blocks 29 at their points of contact within the drum 3|, which in conjunction with the gearing mechanism has the effect of speeding up or slowing down the variable speed shaft l2.

The disc [5 which carries the levers 20, is concentrically mounted on shaft I6, and when the centre of the shaft I6 is raised, the toothed pawl blocks are caused to rotate at a lower rate of speed at and through the arc of engagement with the drum 3| which has the effect of decreasing the speed of the driven shaft.

When the centre of the shaft I6 is lowered to a position approaching the centre of rotation of the toothed pawl blocks or that of the centre of shaft 25, the pawl blocks 29 will naturally be forced to travel at an increased rotative speed through the arc of contact with the drum 3 until the centres of rotation of the shafts H5 and coincide in which case the rotative speed of the disc l5 and the drum 3| will be the same.

A further lowering of the centre of the shaft It will cause the toothed pawl blocks to rotate at a greater speed at their are of contact with the drum 3|, and through the gears 31 and 38 the driven shaft l2 will be caused to rotate at a greater speed than the gears l4, and I6, and the driving shaft II, the raising or lowering of the said shaft I6 having the effect of lengthening or short ening the radius of rotation of the toothed pawl blocks 29, at and through the arc of contact with the drum 3|, and consequently changing their linear speed.

In the modified form shown in Figure 4, another construction of the speed variator is disclosed. The results obtained through its use are identical with those of the acceptable form. The main difference in construction is that instead of using the drum 3| and the toothed pawl blocks 29, a pulley shaped drum 50 having a V-shaped slot 5| is used. In this V-slot are the friction blocks 52 which are in engagement with the slot walls, said blocks being rigidly held by the springs and stud 53 and 54 respectively, and it is to be noted that in this instance the variable speed shaft 55 is located centrally in the casing and not off-set as in the acceptable form described previously, and in this case the shaft 55 itself supports the drum 50 and its corresponding mechanism, thusly eliminating gears 31 and 38 as previously described. The friction blocks propelled in an arc by the crank levers attached to the disc are forced into engagement with the V-slot in the drum 5!] thus causing shaft 55 to receive at variable speeds. The speed changing mechanism consisting of the lever H, the hand wheel and corresponding parts are the same as before de scribed in the acceptable form.

In the operation of the toothed type the disc I5 is revolved by the gear l3 on the drive shaft I and the gear M on the drive shaft l 6, the arms 20 which are pivotally mounted on the disc |5 are likewise revolved also, and the arms which in turn carry the toothed pawl blocks 29 drive them around the eccentrically located bearing 25. The drum 3| is toothed on the inner side to engage with the pawl blocks 29 and when the revolving pawls 29 engage with the toothed drum 3| it causes the drum to revolve. The drum 3| is mounted on the stationary shaft 26 and carries on its hub portion, the gear 31 which is in mesh with the gear 38 rigidly secured to the variable speed shaft I2. It is apparent that the pawls will not be in constant engagement with the drum 3| on its entire toothed circumference due to being eccentrically mounted, and the toothed pawls 29 are driven in an eccentric circular path and are in contact with the drum at various points. It will be seen that by shortening or lengthening the radius of rotation of the toothed pawls about the shaft I6 at and through the arc of contact with the drum 3|, greater or lesser revolutions will be imparted to the drum which through its revolutions directly controls the variable speed shaft I2.

The speed of the driven pawls 29 is controlled by the lever I! the movement of which is accomplished through the hand wheel 40 located outside the casing to be turned by the operator. By turning the hand wheel it has the effect of raising or lowering the centre of the disc |5 which controls directly the movements of the driven pawls 29 and to thus increase or decrease the speed of the variable speed shaft I2.

It is of course understood that the applicant does not wish to limit his invention to the exact form as shown, and that various constructional features could be added without in any way departing from the essential features embodied therein.

What I claim is:

1. In speed variators, a drive shaft and a driv- 7 en shaft suitably journalled, a movable member carried by the driving shaft, an intermediate gear having extending crank arms movable therewith, said intermediate gear being rotatably mounted on a stub shaft fixed to the movable member, a gear mounted on the driving shaft and meshing with the intermediate gear, the latter being capable of being moved with respect to said driving shaft, an internal toothed drum having a gear formed on its hub rotatably mounted on an auxiliary fixed crank shaft, said auxiliary crank shaft having an extension eccentrically formed therewith and having rotatably mounted thereon a plurality of extension arms disposed around the axis of said crank shaft extension, said extension arms having guide blocks secured thereto, lever arms freely connected to said guide blocks and to the extended crank arms of said intermediate gear, an adjustable member suitably secured to a fixed part, said guide blocks having segmental gears movably mounted thereon and adapted to engage the teeth of said internal drum, springs arranged to urge said segmental gears into engagement with said internal drum, 2. gear mounted on the driven shaft and meshing with said hub gear, said adjustable member tending to prevent contact of said segmental gears with the teeth of said internal toothed drum, and means acting on said movable member for controlling the speed ratio between the driving and driven shafts.

2. In speed variators, a drive shaft and a driven shaft suitably journalled, a movable member carried by said driving shaft, an intermediate gear having crank arms movable therewith rotatably mounted on a stub shaft fixed to said movable member, a gear mounted on the driving shaft and meshing with the intermediate gear, the latter being capable of being moved with respect to the driving shaft, an internal toothed drum having a gear formed on its hub rotatably mounted on an auxiliary fixed crank shaft having an extension eccentrically formed therewith, a hub rotatably mounted on the crank shaft extension and provided with a plurality of extension arms, guide blocks secured to said extension arms, 5

controlling means adapted to control the relative 10 position of said movable member and said ad- 1 justable member, said adjustable member tending to prevent contact of said segmental gears with the teeth of said internal drum, and a gear mounted on the driven shaft and meshing with 15 said hub gear.

LESLIE MITCHEL SHERIDAN. 

